


We Were The Real Two

by Peculiarwizard



Category: Beat the Champ - The Mountain Goats (Album)
Genre: Hair Match, M/M, ok listen i know this is weird but i do what i want, song analysis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-10-13 12:41:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20582666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peculiarwizard/pseuds/Peculiarwizard
Summary: ok so what happened was, i listened to Beat The Champ for like four days straight and created a story in my head out of some of the songs and then i got invested. the full explanation will be in the next chapter but here's a scene that takes place right after Hair Match.





	1. i loved you before i even ever knew what love was like

“It’s not that bad, y’know? It kinda suits you.” He says as he rubs a hand over your shaved head. Your hair was so long before tonight. He used to run his fingers through it sometimes, when you were younger. Used to grab onto it when you practiced in his backyard, tugging sharply, playing dirty. 

“Yeah? Thought long hair was my thing?” You reply. He still hasn’t taken his hand off of you. It’s resting on the back of your neck now. 

“This could be your thing too. Maybe it’s time to try new things.” He shifts on the couch to lean against you, lets his hand fall away from your neck and you almost miss that point of contact, but then he rests his head on your shoulder.

You hum vaguely in response and let silence take over as you just appreciate this moment. The two of you together again after all this time. 

A few minutes pass before he starts to speak again, sitting up a little to look at you better, opening and closing his mouth a couple times like he doesn’t know how to say what he wants to tell you. “Listen, I-” he stops, “I gotta tell you something,” he says finally. You realize now how close his face is to yours. You can almost feel his breath on your lips. 

“Yeah?” You ask, speaking softly, trying not to ruin the moment, whatever this moment is.

And he runs his hand over your head again, so gently this time, so tenderly, fingertips barely grazing your skin, and he says, even softer, the thing you’ve both been skating around for what feels like forever, “I loved you before I even ever knew what love was like”. 

You kiss him, because what else could you do?


	2. Explanation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> so here's my analysis of the songs

Animal Mask - hero and frogmask meet  
They are both young wrestlers, just getting started and they meet in a battle royal. This song sets up their roles in the story and their relationship. Frogmask can’t protect himself, foreshadowing all the times he will be beaten by opponents, leading to his eventual decision to switch sides. He calls out for help and Hero answers, showing his eagerness to help people in danger and be the good guy. Hero pulls Frogmask’s mask down, and tells him he won’t be seen until he wants to be. Eventually Hero will be the one to pull his mask off. These are the times they will think back on later. Every lyric in this song is relevant to the story but especially:  
“Through the noise I hear you call for help  
You can't protect yourself”  
“That was when we were young and green  
In the dawning hours of our team”  
“Pull your mask down through your hair  
They won't see you  
Not until you want them to”  
“Some things you will remember  
Some things stay sweet forever”

Werewolf Gimmick - frogmask fights the werewolf  
This song is only here because I wanted to see how many songs I could fit in the storyline. Frogmask fights the werewolf and loses. Relevant lyric:  
“Some sniveling local babyface with an angle he can’t sell”

Fire Editorial - hero fighting a heel  
Hero fights a heel who is using some illegal moves. This song solidifies his place as the Hero, he sees injustice and asks who can stop this? And the answer is him. Relevant lyrics:  
“Two blinded in Detroit!  
Something must be done”  
“Who will stand before the flood?  
Who will mop up all the blood?  
Who alone?  
Skin, bone, steel, stone  
Swim or drown  
Save this town, save everything not nailed down”  
Choked Out - frogmask does a dangerous match  
Frogmask is desperate for money so he’s willing to be choked out for a chance at winning the prize. Relevant lyric:  
“Everybody's got their limits  
Nobody's found mine”

Heel Turn 2 - frogmask becomes heelturn  
In this song, Frogmask reaches his limit. He’s been trying so hard to be a good guy, but keeps getting beat every time. He doesnt want to die, both in literal terms (like he almost did in Choked Out) and in terms of losing popularity/his career. This heel turn damages his friendship with Hero. Relevant lyrics:  
“Get stomped like a snake  
Lie down in the dirt  
Cling to my convictions  
Even when I get hurt”  
“I don't want to die in here”  
“You found my breaking point  
Congratulations”  
“I’m walking out of here in one piece  
Don’t care what comes after  
Drive the wedge  
Torch the bridge”  
Southwestern Territory - hero is getting older  
Hero has been wrestling for a long time. He’s getting tired. It’s not as dramatic and heroic as he used to think of it. It’s just a job. He thinks back to The Good Old Days, including his friendship with Heelturn, but it’s over. Relevant lyrics:  
“Work like a dog all day  
Born to chase cars away  
Die on the road someday”  
“I try to remember what life was like long ago  
But it's gone, you know”

Unmasked! - hero unmasks heelturn  
Hero and Heelturn are together again but this time they’re on opposite sides, fighting against eachother. The loser will be unmasked and they both know it will be Heelturn. Hero is the only one who knows him. He sees past the mask, past the Heel persona, to the real person, the Frogmask he once knew. And today he will reveal him to everyone, ending his career as a masked wrestler. After a rough career of being consistently beaten, Heelturn doesn’t care about being unmasked. He’s ready to retire. Out of all the wrestlers, everyone the two of them knew and fought against, they were the real two. They were the only people who mattered to eachother. Relevant lyrics:  
“And I’m up high, trying to say goodbye  
The only way I know how  
Crude and graceless”  
“Peeking through the eyeholes  
Seeing the real you”  
“And you don't care, you look almost relieved down there  
Like you're free, like you can breathe now”  
“And by way of honoring  
The things we once both held dear  
I will reveal you”  
“Cast of thousands  
But we were the real two”

Hair Match - heelturn watches hero in a hair match  
I wasn’t sure where to put this song but it’s very important so I’m gonna say it’s Heelturn watching Hero in a hair match. The hero has been defeated and his hair is shaved, like the Biblical Samson having his strength taken away. In this moment of watching his closest friend, his rival, the one who unmasked him, in such a vulnerable position, Heelturn acknowledges the thing they’ve both been avoiding for so long. Relevant lyric:  
“I loved you before I even ever knew what love was like”


End file.
